QUETTA:
A complete shutter-down strike was observed in Quetta on Friday, bringing the business and trade activities to a halt.
The strike was called by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and Awami National Party (ANP), both part of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led Balochistan government, to protest against the kidnapping of Secretary General of JUI-F’s Quetta chapter Abdul Sadiq Norzai. It was carried out by a group of armed men on Saryab Road in the early hours of Thursday.
All the shops, trading and shopping centres located at Liaquat Bazaar, Mission Road, Mechangi Road, Prince Road, Zarghoon Road, Fatima Jinnah Road, Masjid Road, Jinnah Road, Abdul Sattar Road, Kansi Road, Almdar Road, Brewery Road and Joint Road remained closed for the day.
Streets remained deserted with very thin traffic plying all day. Police, Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) and other law enforcement agencies were deployed across the city to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, JUI-F took out a procession in the provincial capital and marched through different roads, before holding a noisy demonstration outside Quetta Press Club (QPC). The protestors carried placards and banners displaying slogans in support of their demands.
The party’s Quetta chapter chief Hafiz Hamdullah accused police and law enforcing agencies of backing criminals that are engaged in kidnappings and other crimes. “The government has completely failed to protect the lives and properties of common people. Even political leaders are not spared by criminals who operate with complete impunity,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 18th, 2012.
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